Foreign secretary Jack Straw faces trial threat over Libya rendition

Legal action: Abdel Hakim Belhadj and Jack Straw

Πηγή: LES
By Craig Woodhouse
April 18 2012


A Libyan military commander will drag Jack Straw to court if the former foreign secretary does not reveal whether he signed papers allowing his alleged rendition, lawyers said today.

Abdel Hakim Belhadj’s legal team said he was determined to get an “admission or acknowledgment” after deciding to sue Mr Straw.

The move follows reports suggesting the Labour MP signed documents that allowed Mr Belhadj, 45, to be taken by CIA agents from Thailand to Colonel Gaddafi’s Libya via UK-controlled Diego Garcia in 2004.

Mr Belhadj claims he was seized en route to Britain while living in exile in China, sent back to Libya and imprisoned and tortured.

The civil action seeks to examine Mr Straw’s role in the rendition and claim damages from him for the trauma. It is believed to be the first time such legal proceedings have been taken against a former foreign secretary.

Sapna Malik, a partner at lawyers Leigh Day & Co, told BBC Radio: “The real issue here is not about the amount of compensation — it’s really to get public acknowledgement and an admission from Jack Straw and those others involved of their role in his rendition.”

However, she added that damages might be sought “in due course”.

Mr Straw, who served as foreign secretary between 2001 and 2006, has been given a month to respond or face having to defend himself in court.

The Blackburn MP was sent a letter yesterday asking him to produce a number of documents. They include papers mentioned in a Sunday Times article which alleged that Mr Straw signed off the rendition, as well as his diaries, memoirs and notes from March 2004 onwards.

Sami Al Saadi, a Libyan who claims to have shared the same fate as fellow Gaddafi opponent Mr Belhadj, is also taking legal action against Mr Straw.

Mr Belhadj, a key military figure in the uprising that toppled Gaddafi last year, is already suing the Foreign Office and MI6. The Metropolitan Police are investigating his claims. British ministers have always denied any complicity in rendition or torture. A spokesman for Mr Straw said he had no comment to make about the events.

In an interview with Radio 4 last year, he said the Labour government had been opposed to unlawful rendition, “were not complicit in it, nor did we turn a blind eye to it”. According to the Sunday Times, this prompted MI6 officers to show him evidence he had signed off the operation.

UK's Straw: Partition in Cyprus should be supported if negotiations fail

Πηγή: Todays Zaman
Oct 13 2011

The international community should support the partition of Cyprus in the event of a deadlock in reunification talks on the island, said former foreign secretary of the United Kingdom Jack Straw on Thursday, while noting that the upcoming EU presidency of Greek Cyprus might actually turn out to be a boost for the reconciliation process between the Turkish and Greek sides of the island.

There has not been much progress toward a solution for a reunification of Cyprus, although the negotiation process between the Greek and Turkish communities has been dragging on for years, Straw stressed in an interview with the Anatolia news agency on Thursday. “In the absence of any progress, the international community should support a partition of the island,” Straw said.

In response to Anatolia's question on the upcoming EU rotating presidency of Greek Cyprus, Straw said he could see why Turkey was worried but expressed the belief that the presidency might be an opportunity for both sides. “It is the responsibility of every country which holds the presidency to represent the EU, not their narrow national perspective,” Straw said, and added, “It [whether the Greek Cypriot presidency will be an opportunity] depends on how Greek Cyprus will lead the rotating presidency.” Straw also expressed the belief that Greek Cypriot leaders know very well the responsibilities they will be entrusted with during their presidency.

Also commenting on the crisis between Turkey and Greek Cyprus over eastern Mediterranean hydrocarbon drilling activities, Straw warned that the current events are “the most dangerous series of events” in the Mediterranean at the moment and added his opinion that Greek Cyprus should not have the right to claim representation of the whole island or its seabed resources.